This past Sunday, I PR'd my 10k race and that's only part and a very minor part of the story. I accomplished much more with the race than going faster. I raced strong, followed my race strategy and I was able to keep my mind in the game until I crossed the finish line. It was the first race I didn't mentally give up before it finished.
The annual Run through Redlands has 3 race distances: 5k, 10k and 1/2 marathon. I've raced the 1/2 marathon several times and for the last few years, I raced the 5k. It's fun, it hurts, it's over quick. I avoided the 10k because it scared me. As Dodie, one of my Oiselle Volee teammates stated when asked which distance is preferable: 5k--twice as hard, but half the time.
Prior to Sunday, I have only raced two 10ks. I asked Coach Becki about which race distance and her advice was to choose the distance that most excites me. One of the reasons 10k's frighten me is because 10k race pace is hard and hurts like a 5k, but lasts longer. This particular 10k scared me a bit because there is a big hill in the middle. Also, all 3 RTR distances start with a slight incline and finish with a loooong slight incline on Olive Street.
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RTR 10k with big hill in middle |
Becki told me to make the effort progressive. To run strong and don't give up. That she has no doubt that I can run a great time even with the hill in there. During the hill portion she told me to remind myself over and over, No Regrets and be willing to work hard and think about having good form and decent turnover even though it hurts. No Regrets became my mantra during the race. I braced myself for the hurt, laced up my shoes and had a great race.
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Using GAP on Strava, great steady effort slightly faster towards end |
Instead of thinking, this sucks/hurts/is hard and I want to quit or why the hell am I doing this? I acknowledged the hurt and didn't worry about pace during the hill portion. I had this weird tunnel vision during the race where I only focused on the present. I broke the race down in chunks: the first 2.5 miles, the long hill (2.5 to 3.7 miles), the steep downhill (3.7 to 5 miles), the last mile. It helped knowing the course (I ran the course twice in training) and it helped that my husband met me at mile 5 and paced me to the end.
Week 10
Monday: Rest Day
Tuesday: 30 minute easy run
Wednesday: 45 minute easy run (drills, 4xstrides) + weight-lifting (upper body and core)
Thursday: 5 miles with 6 x 1min@ 8:00/mi
Friday: 30 minutes Tabata (burpees, yay!)
Saturday: 10 minute shake out with 4 light strides
Sunday: 3.5 mile warm-up jog to start, 6.2 miles race, 1.3 miles cool-down jog to car
Week 10 miles: 26.9 miles
2017 miles: 268 miles
See the training link up on Eat Pray Run DC HERE.